Batsmen still have their work cut-out: Dhoni

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said the absence of both Muralitharan and Malinga in the Sri Lankan squad does not make his batsman's job any easy in the 2nd cricket Test starting at the SSC tomorrow. Both Muralitharan and Malinga worked in tandem to wreck the Indian innings on both occasions at Galle.

Malinga and Muralitharan shared 15 of the 20 Indian wickets among them and played a major role in inflicting a crushing 10-wicket defeat on the visitors in the first Test in Galle.

Malinga has been ruled of the match due to a knee injury while Muralitharan has just retired from Test cricket.

"Nothing is easy in international cricket. You may miss the most experienced bowler but at the same time there will be a youngster standing up saying that I will try to fill in the shoes and he may be a good talent," Dhoni said at the pre-match press conference.

"So it is not about whom you are missing. The important thing to look at is who is filling in the gap and who will be doing the job for you."

Ajantha Mendis, who was India's tormentor in the last tour, will replace Muralitharan but Dhoni was confident of taking on the dangerous mystery spinner.

Mendis had also taken six wickets during India's only practice game ahead of the Test series but Dhoni said his batsmen have got the measure of the bowler by playing against him consistently.

"There is definitely more exposure. Most of the cricketers who were part of the side have played him in the past quite a few times. So that really helps them in judging what kind of variation he has got. What is the kind of line he looks to bowl and the general strategy as well. Definitely they will try to do well against him, especially when last time we were here most of our batsman could not read all the deliveries and could not do better than what was expected. So I think it will be a nice face off," Dhoni said.

Dhoni was still unsure about the combination for the match but said India may go in with three pacemen at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground.

"There is a bit more grass cover on the wicket. The face of the wicket still looks a bit dry. Still, I think there will be more bounce for the fast bowlers compared to Galle. About the strategy, Dhoni was still uncertain whether to bat or bowl first. He said that the team will sit down with the management and decide upon the tactics.

"If you are looking to bowl first then 3:1 is an ideal combination. If you bat first then you will stick to 2:2. So we will see what exactly the thinking is and accordingly we will decide," he said.

Dhoni said the Indians will look to minimize the mistakes they made in the opening Test.

"That is crucial. I think you have to stick to the basics and do the basics right because we all knew what mistakes were committed on the field," he said.